Buckeye94

On 4/24/2024 at 8:34 PM, DaKahuna said:

 

 I make my own at home.  

 Our DD and SIL gave me a smoking kit for birthday this year.  I make smoked old fashioned with both Woodford and Zacapa here at the house.  They are really good. 

 

 I failed to obtain a smoked drink on our last sailing as it was on Millennium which does not have the WCB.  I am going to ask again when we board next week.  Maybe at Cellar Masters they might have something. 

 

I love my drink smoker! I smoked a Manhattan tonight to drink while getting back into CC to prep for my Fall cruise.

Happy sailing and Cheers!

What ship are you on (haven't made it through all the comments if you already said)?

I was on Ascent in Feb, and the Edge class World Class Bar menu is different from what I had on S-class. I didn't know if this is a fleetwide change or by ship class. 

Anyway, I loved the Highlander. Scotch, smoked, rosemary, and included on the premium package. I ended every night with one. Mmmm, memories, can't wait to sail again 

@GenerationX Late, but all caught up to your latest adventure. Sorry to hear about the rough times you experienced and missing Jeremy on this trip.

I've enjoyed the Ascent review by @hcat and I'll be sailing on Ascent soon. Live review TBD. I'm sailing in a solo IV, so I think I owe it to the solos.

Can't wait to hear about the cooking demo/class. 

9 hours ago, Texed said:

 

Beautiful!  🤠

With the orange butter? That was my morning routine on Infinity last Jan. 

19 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

That's a double ouch.   Does bring back good memories of both.

Fond memories, and no sad reaction option.

I read that as "Metallica Party" and thought, "wow, Celebrity is really going after a different customer." 😂 🎵"We're off to never-never land! 🎵

On 12/10/2023 at 1:01 PM, Sandy1975 said:

... it was a nice touch and one thing X was known for. 

It was a nice touch. Ahh, I'm home. It was a "switch" to flip into vacation mode after the packing, drive to the airport, the flight, the hotel, the cab, the check in process, the long walk to board, and right after you board...sparkling wine, Cheers! <sigh>

The Classic to Premium upgrade was 50% off for my Feb cruise, and some excursions were 20-50% off for that one and a Fall booking.

Not a statewide sale, but deals were there.

On 11/24/2023 at 2:15 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

Also, a little tip… one can easily get to the debarkation platform via a small spiral stair case right off the martini bar. A great little find!

 

And, on reverse, a quick return to the martini bar after your excursion! 😀

I do love the Edge class Destination Gateway.

Late to the thread but not the party! 😀

Happy Anniversary @Georgia_Peaches! I can't think of a better way to celebrate.

I'll be on Ascent on Feb with the brother captains.

Looking forward to your review. Have fun! 

Nice! I sailed Infinity in January for the Patagonia itinerary. WCB would be a great addition. Might consider other sailings. I missed the comforts of the newer ships.

SOLO TRAVELERS! 

Bring a "throwaway" paperback book or a place card that says "I'll be back" (Terminator photo optional) in case you need to step away from your table. 

@GenerationX Sorry to stalk you here!

Would you choose 2 dinners at Eden or Le Voyage? I'm planning 3 specialty dinners on Ascent and value your advice.

Julie from our Beyond CC Gatsby Party

I appreciate your review. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience.

3 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

 

In this day/age (with the bandwidth most people have), I'm not sure why they want you to close everything else.

 

Yeah, I mean it's not like we're trying to watch it using the ship's wifi! 😄

Thank you, Charla! I need a vacation and kind of got one through you! It felt like I was there...even more so when I made prosciutto chips to drink with my bubbly as I finished reading this and caught up on your last adventure with Gen Z! 😀

21 hours ago, mgreenpa said:

@Buckeye94 We did Prima in December (we’re Elite CC on Celebrity but thought the same of worth the try on NCL Prima).
 

We very much regret it and will never sail NCL again. happy to answer any questions if you would like to reach out… just don’t want to co-opt Charla’s thread. 

Would appreciate hearing your experience. I tried to message you in CC but it was disabled on your profile. Did you post a review? 

Yay! Another @GenerationX adventure! 

Wasn't me who did the Salsa y Salsa, but that sounds fabulous! I did a tour that included a stop at a resort for a cooking class. Food was yummy, drinks were weak, but great group of people made it fun.

I'll be following along. I'm considering jumping ship over to NCL to try out their Prima ship on an itinerary out of Southampton that hits Amsterdam, Brussels/Bruges, and 3 stops in Norway, before heading over to Iceland. Never sailed NCL before, but the itinerary sounds great and ship looks nice.

3 hours ago, webecruzin2 said:

 Would love to hear opinions from any X cruisers that also have sailed with MSC.  
 
 

I'm considering MSC, too. I'd always thought suites were out of range for me as a solo traveler, but it looks possible there. I've almost exclusively sailed Celebrity (one RC), but the experience and cost is changing.

Check out a January review by GenerationX. She did a B2B with the first leg on Celebrity and the second on MSC. All in one one review on the Celebrity forum.

On 2/7/2023 at 6:51 PM, Jim_Iain said:

 

Monterrey sits within the Monterrey Bay National Marine Sanctuary -  One of our nation's most spectacular marine protected areas.  

 

I do not think that dropping Monterey from the Pacific Coastal will have any impact on Solstice cruises on the California Coast.     As a matter of tact at the end of Covid we did a back to back and both Monterrey and Santa Barabara were pulled an we had a fantastic cruise with port of Ensenada, Catalina Island and an overnight in San Francisco. 

 

 

Same. Pacific Coastal in 2019. Monterrey was cancelled due to swells, so we sailed into San Francisco early and got an overnight there! It was pure bliss. 

On 2/5/2023 at 8:39 PM, Jim_Iain said:

That is our plan.   We will be arriving on the TA on Equinox Dec 2024 so plenty of time to plan.   I was thinking of flying there on day of disembarkation so I don't have to get 2 AirB2B or pay for 3-4 days that we would not be there.

 

Did you take the Celebrity Excursion?    I know they can be extremely expensive.   When we did the the Taj Mahal I took the Celebrity itinerary and had an agent replicate it except we stayed in Agra instead of Delhi.   The price was about 1/4 of what Celebrity was charging and it ended up 1/2 of the Celebrity Excursion was on the same flight as us.

Yes, I did the shore excursion through Celebrity, but solo traveler nerves so far from home and by then, I knew some of the people on the tour. Yes, expensive. If there's a next time, I'd do it on my own.

On 2/3/2023 at 10:51 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Happy to follow along and especially hear about your planning for Iguasu Falls.     Planning visiting them on a cruise in the next couple of years.

Do the overnight or book your own overnight visit, if you can. I did the one day excursion (you read my "As Live as I can be" review of the 1/2 Infinity sailing), and it was A LOT. Met at 5:45am on the ship and got to my hotel at 2am (hour flight delay, but still!). I wish I had the luxury of another day and a hotel with views of the Falls. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad I did it. It was breathtaking, and I felt...fulfilled (?) for lack of a better word. It wasn't rushed; it was just a lot to do in one day.

On 1/17/2023 at 11:20 AM, GenerationX said:

 

Frequent followers of my reviews know how much I love a good full body mirror.  So it’s saying something when I say this room has too much mirror for me.  The Italians must really enjoy looking at themselves. At all times. The entire wall across from the bed is a massive mirror.  I’m keeping this review rated PG so I won’t share my husband’s response when I sent him a photo of this about how he felt that this feature could actually [cough] “optimize” our [cough] “cruising experience”. 

 

But, how does it compare to the veranda design on the pre-revolutionized Infinity with its mirror wall at the foot of the bed and a sturdy bar instead of a headboard? 😂 Bow chicka wow wow, indeed! 😳 And, ouch when you're trying to read at night.

Murano and the Veuve Clicquot dinner if/when they hold it. I'm still dreaming of that meal on Reflection 2021.

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Really enjoyed following along in you latest adventure.  

 

Your a natural at live posting and really enjoyed following along.

From you, that is high praise. Thank you! 

I'm glad I was able to give back to those who have helped me over the years and to pay it forward to other travelers.

Happy sailing, everyone! Until next time...